Betting On Horse Races – Tips
Over the years I have noticed that many people come to this site and do not find what they are looking for. Every year thousands of people visit this Horse poker site looking for information about either learning how to bet on horse races or just general horse knowledge. Betting on horse races and betting in horse poker may be somewhat related since they both are forms of gambling but I am hoping that horse betting enthusiasts will be funneled to this page so no one inadvertently wastes their valuable time. I’m actually a recreational horse race gamblers but I hardly ever win. For proven horse race betting tips click on one of the links in this post to be taken to an expert’s web site.
If you want to bet on the Breeders’ Cup there are some tips that I can share. Like I said, I’m not very successful at the tracks, online or live. I do have some basic tips that I want to share that will help novices though.
For years my idea of proper horse race betting basically consisted of placing 10-20 $2 trifecta wagers every race. I think my money would have been better spent buying scratch-off tickets. I only recall actually winning more than $50 on a single race 4-5 times. After talking to some veteran horse bettors and reading the in-depth guides found online I have learned to bet my money more wisely.
Trifectas may sound good since the payouts can be massive. I had a fixed format for my wagers during my learning phase. I would box a trifecta with the favorite, a middling horse (i.e. 10:1) and the long shot. This didn’t work well.
My best tip for people who want to bet on horse races online is to place straight wagers. Instead of placing $40 on a wide range of trifectas you should bet that $40 on a horse that pays something like 2:1.
This isn’t always true though. If you have reason to believe that a long shot is going to do well you should still make the low probability/high payout wagers. I am simply suggesting that you focus on high probability/low payout bets.
Casino players will understand this concept. What I was doing is basically like someone placing a $2 wager on two-thirds of the numbers on a Roulette table. Even if I hit a number the losses from my other bets cancel out most of my profit. Placing a single $40 on Red is a much more reasonable bet.
These same principles can also be applied to horse betting. Long-shot horses do and will finish first so if you want to throw a few bucks on one every now and then that works too. Just reserve the bulk of your wagers for outcomes that have high likelihoods. My last tip is to start off small. As you bet on horse races you will gain experience. Don’t risk too much money until you have some wins and hopefully even profits under your belt. Keeping it completely recreational at first will prevent you from getting in over your head which can happen very quickly and the financial troubles can quickly add up.
